Former Chicago Alderman Edward R. Vrdolyak has been indicted on charges of income tax evasion impeding the IRS.

Vrdolyak was revealed in court to be "Individual A" in a federal indictment that accused a Chicago attorney, Daniel Soso, of evading nearly $800,000 in income taxes.

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Vrdolyak pleaded guilty to fraud in 2008 for his role in a million-and-a-half dollar real estate kickback scheme. He served a 10-month sentence in a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., with former Ill. Gov. George Ryan.

In different times, Vrdolyak was known as a deal-maker. Nicknamed "Fast Eddie," he mounted two failed bids for mayor but may be most well known in city politics for leading opposition against then-Mayor Harold Washington in the racially-charged "Council Wars" of the 1980s.

The onetime 10th Ward alderman later switched to the Republican Party and he contributed to the destruction of the GOP in suburban Cook County, where it was once a potent political force. Do you wonder why Illinois isn't trending red like Wisconsin and Michigan? Fast Eddie is one of the reasons. All but hardened leftists will agree that the Land of Lincoln would be in better shape if it had a functioning two-party system.

His law firm, the Vrdolyak Group, a personal injury firm, regularly runs ads on local AM radio and Vrdolyak Group billboards are common sights in Chicago, despite Fast Eddie's notoriety and criminal history.

Vrdolyak's conviction and this indictment are from that part of his career after he left the City Council. But just because a person performs some good deeds that does not give him the right to commit crimes. Here's a fair quote about Vrdolyak.

"'He also said, no matter when you're talking, always talk as if you were talking on tape. And I can't believe it. He didn't follow his own advice,' said Ald. Bernard Stone, 50th Ward."

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